If
last night's preview of the Odyssey Channel is any indication of what's
ahead, it's very promising for Henson and Hallmark fans to say the least.
T. Erik Browne comments on this special 3-hour preview which he saw last
night.

"It
was interesting. The first half hour was Mandy Patinkin talking about
how great the new Odyssey Channel was going to be. First he talked about
all the great Odyssey Channel shows that would still be on. Then he talked
about all the great TV movies and miniseries that they'd be showing courtesy
of Hallmark. And finally he talked with Kermit via TV (Mandy was sitting
in the studio talking to a TV with Kermit on it) about all the great Henson
stuff they'd be showing. I think the message they were trying to drive
home was that the new Odyssey Channel was going to be great, but I wasn't
sure. Maybe if Mandy had said the word "great" a couple dozen
more times..."

"Henson
works specifically mentioned were The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, The Muppet
Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, The Muppet
Show, and specials such as Monster Maker, Dog City (the original one,
not the cartoon), and Secrets of the Muppets."

"Then
they showed the episode of the Muppet Show with Mark Hamill and the stars
of Star Wars. This was uncut with no commercial interruptions, and included
the "extra" skit recorded for the British broadcasts. This was,
I believe, the first time an episode of this show has run in its "full"
version on American television. The only change was that in the last second
or so of the closing credits, while you could hear Zoot blow the final
note on his sax, they showed The Jim Henson Company logo instead."

"This
was followed by a short bit on making the Muppets, which seemed to be
original. This bit focused on Muppets appearing in water, and included
clips from an interview with Frank Oz where he describes how they did
shots from The Frog Prince, The Muppet Movie, and The Great Muppet Caper
where Muppets appeared in or on water. The final two hours was taken up
with a showing of the TV movie The Yearling. I skipped this part."

This
preview is exciting because we now know "officially" that a
lot of the classic Henson specials, and series such as The Muppet Show
and Fraggle Rock will be returning to American television as early as
this Spring. It's also encouraging because of the possibility of viewing
unedited episodes (like The Muppet Show) on the network. If the network
ends up being "commercial free" this will be an added bonus.

What
remains to be seen, however, is what the new network is going to be named
as it plans expansion into new areas. It has been referred to as the "New
Odyssey", but it's likely another new name will appear. Also, as
of this writing, an official date for the "crossover" to Henson
and Hallmark programming has not been announced.

All-in-all
though, the preview was a success, because it gives Henson fans concrete
evidence that the shows they love will soon be returning to the airwaves
on a daily basis.

Fan site Muppet Central created by Phillip Chapman. Updates by Muppet
Central Staff. All Muppets, Bear characters are copyright
of The Muppets Studio. Sesame Street characters are copyright of Sesame
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Fraggle Rock, Creature Shop and similar likenesses are copyright
of The Jim Henson Company.
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